And in other groundbreaking news, water is wet, fire is hot, ice is cold, the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, dogs bark, cats meow, roses are red, and violets are blue… Sigghhhhh

Really?

How many more studies does America need? Tell me the correct number of studies that will make America believe what Black people are saying is true?

You are researching. We are living this nightmare. You are researching. We are fighting to survive. You are researching? We can see that White heroin addiction is being treated differently and more compassionately than the Black crack epidemic. You are researching. And our communities are still suffering from redlining. You are researching. And we know that Black and Brown men and women are incarcerated quicker and longer than White people. You are researching. And we know our children are suspended from school more than White children. You are doing surveys. We are mourning the loss of Trayvon, Eric, Ayiana, Sandra and many other people of color. You are crunching numbers. While. We. Are. Dying.

Were the racial slurs, not enough evidence?
Was the KKK supporting this President, not enough evidence?
Were the physical assaults on Black and Brown people, not enough evidence?
Was the defacing of mosques, not enough evidence?
Was the vandalism of Jewish headstones, not enough evidence?
Was the hijab being ripped from a Muslim woman’s head, not enough evidence?
Were the screams of, “Go back to your country”, not enough evidence?
Was the murder of innocent people due to hate, not enough evidence?

What more evidence will it take? How much blood needs to run in the streets to validate your research? As you may know, many of my people complete your surveys in blood and tears.

We have been shouting this truth, and this nation has turned a deaf ear and blind eye to our screams. This nation pretends it doesn’t hear the innocent blood shouting just beneath the soil. The cries of injustice are what haunts you at night. When our ancestors scream, now we all scream. You should have listened.

You have only quantified and validated mathematically and scientifically, what Black people already knew to be true. What we have attempted to tell you was always true. And we know it, because we live it, live and in color every single day.

However, now that you have scientifically proven what we have been TRYING to tell you since Trump first started to run for President, now what? Now that you have this concrete data of what we have already known, now what? Now that you understand the campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” was just a cry to Make America Racist and White Again, now what? Now that you know that race was indeed a factor in electing a man without an ounce of political savvy into the highest office in the land, now what? Now that you might have a modicum of understanding of why we are protesting, now what? Now that you know that people will sacrifice even their own benefits to have a man in the Oval Office that supports their racist agenda, now what? Now that you know what Black people have been saying since our ancestors first arrived in this nation, now what?

What will you do with this “newfound” knowledge?

You don’t get off the hook because you published a study. Thank you for now admitting what we have already known. But you see, here there is no cookies and milk being served for acknowledging a longstanding and well-known truth. What we are serving up is a cold dish of crow and reality. Because knowing comes with responsibility which is why many people would rather remain in the dark, cloaked in the illusion that we are a post-racial nation that sings kumbaya, eats Ballpark hotdogs, all while sipping a Kendall Jenner ice cold Pepsi.

Knowing means working to change a system. Knowing means, you can no longer pretend. Knowing means, you have a responsibility to advocate for transformation. Knowing means, you must support policies that benefit People of Color. Knowing means, you must acknowledge injustice.

My momma used to say when you know better; you do better. So now that you know, according to how YOU needed to know, what will you do, to “do better”?

But let’s be real. You didn’t need a study to know what is going on all around you. You never needed a study. All you had to do was open your eyes.

Why? Because journalists need something to do and there was that whole spate of books and articles that said that the poor white guys just want a job and to be able to provide for their families – they weren’t ACTUALLY racist. So now we need a thousand articles to set the record straight and say what everyone really knew from the beginning – Yes, you were actually racist when you voted for Trump.